Showing 151 - 154 of 154
Youth army reserves: bullets, bonding and a ticket out of the real thing
Spectrum, Published on 15/07/2012
» For 17-year-old Kornwut the highlight of his time as a member of the Army Reserve Force Students was blasting away with M16A1s left over from the Vietnam War. Though they were only 5.56mm calibre guns and offered little recoil, they were fun to shoot and he would have done more but that could get costly _ due to budget constraints reservists who wish to practise their shooting must pay 30 baht for five bullets.
Youth wasted on beggars' road to Thailand
Spectrum, Published on 20/05/2012
» Dice roll and cards are dealt every day in the seven casinos along the Poipet-Thai border, but just five kilometres away in the ramshackle village of Kbal Spean, gamblers of a different sort are playing for much higher stakes: betting their and their children's lives as they struggle to eke out a meagre living as beggars in Thailand.
Is it 'Alien' or 'Avatar' in Kaeng Krachan?
Spectrum, Supara Janchitfah, Published on 19/02/2012
» Last July the mysterious crashes of three military helicopters in the space of a couple of weeks riveted the country's focus on Kaeng Krachan National Park, the nation's largest in Phetchaburi province. Much less attention was given to another dramatic series of events around the same time affecting ethnic Karen-Thai inside the park. These culminated in raids by park officials in which a total of 90 of their homes and rice barns were burned down. The ethnic Karen and their advocates say the National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation Department is conducting a campaign to drive them out of the park.
Going with feng shui flow makes practical sense
Spectrum, Published on 29/01/2012
» December and January usually indicate a low season for property sales as Thais celebrate the traditional New Year and the Chinese New Year. Thais and Chinese have close ties culturally, and these days many Thais seem to believe in Chinese astrology and feng shui.